Winchester Model 1886 Extra Light 534053142 45-70 Gov’t

The 45-70 Government cartridge has been in constant use since 1873. The U.S. military adopted the round and used it until 1892, while the cartridge’s sporting use for hunting and competition has been uninterrupted to this day. That says a lot about the performance and reliability of the 45-70. There are better cartridges that are flatter shooting and have more downrange power at long distances, but with a modern lever-action rifle, the 45-70’s sweet spot is close to 100 yards. Depending on the ammo, if your rifle is equipped with an optic, and your shooting ability allows, you might be able to squeeze out effective shots to 200 yards. Lever-action rifles chambered in the round are popular with hunters in states that require a straight-wall cartridge and for hunters who want a lot bang to get the buck. Or wild boar or black bear. Large game is in the 45-70’s portfolio at the right distance.

The Marlin 1881 was the first successful lever-action to be chambered in the 45-70, but many more are available today. We tested four, starting with a slightly used new manufacture Winchester Model 1886 Extra Light, a Taylor’s 1886 Journey made by Pedersoli, and a Taylor’s 1886 Ridge Runner Takedown made by Chiappa. While these three lever actions are based on the Model 1886, they all have distinct differences. We also tested a Marlin clone, a Rossi R95. 

The obvious common denominators with these rifles are the chamberings, action types, and tubular magazines. All rifles were loaded via a loading gate on the side of the receiver, and we could top off the magazines on all of these rifles as shots were fired by pushing rounds into the magazine tube as we went. Barrel lengths varied from 18.5 inches to 22 inches. Weight across the board was slightly more than 7 pounds. All came equipped with iron sights. The Rossi is drilled and tapped for mounting an optic, and the Pedersoli and Chiappa remakes feature open sights and a section of rail for a forward-mounted optic. The Winchester is drilled and tapped for a side-mounted peep sight. 

We tested all four rifles with open sights at 50 yards, with a range bag for support. For ammunition, we selected Hornady LEVERevolution rounds with 250-grain FTX bullets, Winchester Super-X 300-grain jacketed hollow points, and Federal Fusion 300-grain soft points. The Winchester and Federal cartridges are more traditional 45-70 loads, with muzzle velocities in these rifles that ranged from 1737 fps to 1953 fps. The Hornady round is made specifically for tubular-magazine lever-action rifles. The 250-grain FTX bullet uses a more tapered bullet profile with an elastomer Flex Tip, so the cartridges play nice together in the magazine tube. When touching the primer of the cartridge in front of it, the Flex Tip ensures the rounds won’t go off under recoil. And there is some recoil with these rifles. Extra weight is a good thing when touching off these big bores. Muzzle velocities with the Hornady round ranged from 1935 fps to 2100 fps. 

We also fired the rifles off hand to judge the smoothness of their actions and their ability to provide a fast follow-up shot. In our opinion, any of these rifles would work as a hunting rifle, and after we collected the empty brass, we found a real bargain, a safe queen, an odd duck, and a pricey nice-to-have rifle. Here are the specifics. 

Winchester Model 1886 Extra Light 534053142 45-70 Gov’t

~$1600

Gun Tests grade: A-

The Extra Light is a variant on the classic 1886 with modern features. The trigger could have been better. Accuracy was good despite the old-school sights.

This Model 1886 is built by the original manufacturer of the ’86, but with modern safety features and better steel. The Extra Light model is just that, a lightweight version of the Model 1886 with a 22-inch tapered round barrel, Grade I walnut stock with a straight grip, and a flat metal buttplate. The metal wore a deep blued finish, and the wood was smooth with a satin finish. The half-length magazine offers a four-round capacity. This rifle had the longest barrel and spat out bullets faster than the other rifles. 

The Extra Light is fast to shoulder, and fully loaded weighs 7.9 pounds. Overall length is 40.5 inches, which makes it the longest rifle tested. It felt lively when we shouldered the rifle. The checkered-steel buttplate was slick but not slippery, so the Extra Light was fast to shoulder. The buttplate did not help to manage felt recoil, though recoil was tolerable.

The action was smooth, but not as smooth and slick as the other 1886 rifles tested. We worked the lever slowly in the pursuit of jamming it, but we could not. Of course, the best practice is to operate the lever smartly. Empties ejected up and behind our heads. The magazine tube was smooth and easy to load, and the spring cover snapped back into place after the last round was loaded without pinching our thumbs. The hammer offers plenty of texture to cock the hammer back.

The sights were classic and traditional, a Marble Arms gold-bead front sight and a buckhorn adjustable rear sight with a stepped piece to adjust elevation. Use a nylon hammer to tap the rear sight to adjust windage. These sights are serviceable. Also, the left side of the receiver is drilled and tapped for a Williams peep sight ($85 @ WilliamsGunSight.com), which many hunters added to their lever-action rifles before optics became more popular. There is no provision to attach a scope to the Extra Light.

The new features of the Extra Light include a top tang safety that looked wrong on this perfectly classic Winchester. The safety blocked the trigger. The hammer is a rebounding type, so there is no worry about dropping the rifle, hitting the hammer, and the rifle firing. The hammer has two positions: rebounding and fully cocked.

To unload the rifle, best practice is to place the rifle on Safe and lever the action until the gun is empty.

In accuracy testing, the Extra Light provided the best three-shot group, measuring 0.61 inch with Winchester Super-X ammo driving a 300-grain JHP. That’s a nice group with iron sights at 50 yards. Both the Federal and Hornady best groups were larger at 1.71 and 1.85 inches, respectively. The Extra light averaged 1.5-inch groups across all ammo selections. Moving to the followup-shot test, the Winchester cycled fairly smoothly, but it was a bit difficult to find the front sight. The LOP was 13.2 inches, so you do not have to reach far when fully opening the lever. In hand, the fore end felt thin.

Our Team Said: If you want a more modern 1886 chambered in 45-70 Government, pass on the Extra Light. However, the Extra Light is an excellent example of a classic Model 1886 variant. The fit and finish were beautiful. Accuracy was good. We would keep this rifle as a safe queen and shoot it on high holy days, like John Moses Browning’s birthday, January 23.

To collect accuracy data, we fired three-shot groups from a bench using a rest. Distance: 50 yards with open sights. We recorded velocities and energy using a Garmin Xero C1 Pro Chronograph. 

Written and photographed by Robert Sadowski, using evaluations from Gun Tests Team members. GT